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Marchionne out as CEO, but Fiat Chrysler is well positioned for what comes next

With CEO Sergio Marchionne out at Fiat Chrysler, what comes next for the automaker? The boards of FCA, Ferrari and CNH — the three Fiat Group companies Marchionne leads — huddled Saturday in the company’s traditional home of Turin, Italy, and expected to announce a plan Saturday.

John Elkann, president of the FCA Italy group, right, holds a necktie to Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne before a press conference at the FCA headquarters, in Balocco, Italy on June 1, 2018. Luca Bruno, AP

Journalists watch a giant screen as Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne speaks during the 'Capital market day' at the FCA headquarters in Balocco, Italy, Friday, June 1, 2018. Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is outlining his business plan for the automaker's next five years in his last big presentation to investors before retiring next year. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Luca Bruno, AP

Losing CEO Sergio Marchionne, who created Fiat Chrysler out of scraps and led it to unexpected financial and sales success, is a serious blow, but FCA is well positioned.

Key points:

The highly profitable Jeep Wrangler is successfully launched and on sale.

The equally important Ram 1500 pickup should be hitting dealerships in meaningful numbers shortly.

A plan for investment and strategy through 2021 is in place.

The search for a new CEO was already underway.

FCA’s finances are more secure than anyone expected.

Fiat Chrysler is an attractive partner for other global automakers.

“Sergio planned to retire in 2019, so really, this just fast-forwards the process,” AutoPacific analyst Dave Sullivan said.

The boards of FCA, Ferrari and CNH — the three Fiat Group companies Marchionne leads — huddled Saturday in the company’s traditional home of Turin, Italy, and expected to announce a plan by early afternoon U.S. time.

Alfredo Altavilla – The longtime Fiat executive has deep roots in the company. Currently running business development and operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, he’s a Marchionne confidante and a firefighter with a reputation for getting things done.

Mike Manley – Manley has led Jeep to a period of unprecedented growth and profitability, launching new vehicles and adding factories and sales around the world.

Richard Palmer – FCA's chief financial officer was vital in creating the company’s five-year plan and selling financial analysts on the wisdom of FCA’s strategy. Deeply rooted in finance, his experience could come in handy as alliance talks ]with other automakers heat up.

Tim Kuniskis – Head of Alfa Romeo and Maserati, Kuniskis is responsible for luxury marques vital to FCA’s future. He’s a dark horse who’s been spending a lot time in Italy. Previously led a surprisingly successful campaign to bolster Dodge’s image despite the brand’s lack of new vehicles

Speculation about Marchionne's successor has run high, but even at the company's meeting June 1 in Balocco, Italy, where executives laid out their five-year plan, Marchionne and others refused to talk about his potential successor.

Whoever follows him will have a tough act to follow.

Marchionne, a dual Italian-Canadian citizen with an MBA from the University of Windsor and a career mostly in Europe, was picked to lead Fiat in 2004. The company was paired with Chrysler as the smallest of the Detroit 3 automakers emerged from its second bankruptcy and government bailout in 2009. Fiat completed its deal for Chrysler in 2014, and in 2017, Fiat Chrysler reported a pretax profit of $4.4 billion (3.5 billion euro).

“For starters, Marchionne is one of a kind. He is a strong, take-no-prisoners leader," Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at Autotrader, told the Detroit Free Press last month. "Aside from the personality aspects, Marchionne’s successor takes over at a time when U.S. sales, at least, have (passed) their peak for this unprecedented run and the auto industry is on the verge of massive transformation.”

Fiat Chrysler has achieved much despite its challenging beginnings.

“From a financial standpoint, you’ve got to say that Sergio Marchionne has done a fabulous job,” John McElroy, industry watcher and host of “Autoline," said last month. “Fiat was a basket case when they put him in charge of that, and Chrysler was bankrupt.”